This invention relates generally to box and container assemblies. In particular, the present invention pertains to a divider used to segregate a box or container into discrete compartments.
It is well known in the art to employ dividers vertically positioned within the interior of a box or container. These dividers serve to segregate the interior into two or more compartments, and are beneficial for several reasons. First, if the box in which the divider is used is employed to store documents, a divider enables storage of a variety of documents segregated in accordance with a preselected identification system, such as by category or type of document. Also with respect to boxes that carry documents, use of a divider maintains their vertical position within the interior when the box is not full.
Box dividers also find application in storing and transporting items other than documents, especially fragile items. These dividers may be positioned within the interior in proximity to the item, thereby holding the same within a particular region of the box. Thus during transportation, the item or items are less likely to move about the interior of the box. This in turn protects such items from damage caused by contact with other items in the box and by the jarring motion typically encountered during transportation.
Normally, such dividers are used in conjunction with a conventional container in the form of either a carton or a box made of a corrugated material such as cardboard. The box includes a pair of opposing side walls joined by end walls and a bottom, defining an interior. Optionally, these boxes contain a cover placed over the top to thereby enclose the interior. Also, to aid in transportation, the ends walls may be fitted with apertures dimensioned to allow the user to grasp the box and lift the same. These boxes are sold by a variety of different manufacturers, and depending on the materials used and the rigidity desired, the thickness of the box walls often varies.
While the varying thickness of the end walls does not present a problem for current dividers, varying thicknesses between the side walls has presented a problem for prior art dividers which has heretofore been unaddressed. This problem stems from the fact that the width of the box, as measured by the distance between the exterior surfaces of the side walls, is altered by either increasing or decreasing the thickness of the material used to construct the side walls. Since these boxes vary in side wall thickness, dividers constructed to fit one size box cannot be adjusted or modified to fit another box having a different side wall thickness. This inability to provide an adjustable divider increases costs to the manufacturers by having to create entirely separate dividers sized to fit boxes of varying dimension. Furthermore, this lack of adjustability greatly increases the inconvenience to the consumer, since a divider dedicated to a box having a certain side wall thickness cannot be altered or adjusted to fit a different size box.
Beyond their lack of adjustability prior art dividers, due to their particular construction, often fail to stay in place. This is so because many such dividers contain flanges or winged members that engage the top edges of the side walls. During transportation, when the boxes are filled with documents, these dividers have a tendency to slide along the top edge of the side walls, thereby defeating the purpose of a stable rigid partition.
Thus, there exists a need for a box divider which can be adjusted to fit boxes with differing side wall thicknesses, and maintains its rigid position within the interior of the box during transportation.